Monday morning bicycle news

Lady Fleur asked me to participate in an April Fool’s Day prank involving cats and bicycles at the Caltrain station in San Jose this morning. I haven’t the least clue what she has in mind; she just said I need to “pretend you like cats.” For the latest, follow me on Twitter @Cyclelicious.

Bike & transit news

Santa Cruz apparently plans to build an aerial tramway from downtown to the UC campus, something like the Portland Aerial Tram.

A forty year dream to build a gondola lift aerial tram from downtown Santa Cruz to the UC Santa Cruz may become reality after Santa Cruz County’s transportation agency received a $32 million grant from a foundation controlled by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Planners described a series of towers from the Santa Cruz METRO bus terminal on Pacific Avenue. The aerial tram will cross Highway 1 west of River Street and fly over Harvey West. Riders can enjoy a view of nature as they cross over Pogonip Park before entering the UC campus near the Lower East Field. The system terminates on Hagar Drive at Cowell College.

Do you remember California Governor Jerry Brown’s veto message when he declined to sign the three foot passing bill into law? He said allowing drivers to cross the double yellow centerline to pass slow cyclist is too dangerous. You can see how dangerous it is in this video.

Cap’n Transit writes a little about the Federal transportation funding pie and bike advocacy. I’ve entertained similar thoughts about lobbying for drastically reduced road spending. This is already the reality for many local governments in California, where cities and counties cannot afford to maintain their roads.